“I’m back, Mom.” I put my bag on the shelf in the entryway and shrugged off my coat, hanging it neatly on the rack. When I turned to the living room, though, I immediately noticed a stranger there, and my look of feigned cheer gave way to total confusion.
“Oh, hi, sweetheart.” There my mother stood, looking as lovely as ever and graciously entertaining a man. I moved toward her, glancing back and forth between the two of them. Finally, my gaze settled on the man, who couldn’t have been more than forty. He had notably intense gray eyes and neatly coiffed black hair. His angular jaw was covered with a dark layer of beard. His nose was straight, and his lips were thin. His charcoal suit matched his eyes, and his body looked slim yet leanly muscled.
“Is this your daughter?” His voice was low and scratchy, and it made me halt a short distance away from him.
“Yes, Anton. This is Selene.” My mother smiled at me, and I tried to smile back at her, concealing my obvious surprise.
“A pleasure to meet you, Selene. I’m Anton Coleman.” The man stuck out his hand, and after just a moment of hesitation, I shook it.
“Well, Judith, as always, time flies when I’m with you, but I have some errands I have to get to.” Anton nodded briefly in my direction and then headed for the door, my mother accompanying him. I watched him all theway. The two said goodbye in the doorway, and when my mother closed the door and turned to look at me, I pulled off my scarf and tossed it onto the sofa.
“Do you have something to tell me?” I asked her immediately. Mom knew that I would be fine with a new man in her life—my father had moved on, and it was probably best for her to do the same—but she was likely still a little worried about my reaction. For my part, I knew I was protective and possessive of her, though I’d never tried to dictate her life or her choices. I had to admit, though, that this was a big reversal for her. She hadn’t dated at all since the divorce.
“He’s just a colleague,” she said immediately—and defensively—before fleeing into the kitchen to escape any more of my questions.
“He has beautiful eyes, yourcolleague, Anton,” I said teasingly, following her around the kitchen island. Mom turned her back to me and started shifting things around randomly on the counter, pretending she was cleaning up.
“Mom,” I called out to her, taking a seat on a stool. “Mooom,” I said again, and she turned around, hands on her hips. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment, and her eyes glowed with a new light.
“Selene, I told you—he is a colleague of mine. And he’s too young for me, anyway,” she babbled, waving a hand in the air.
“How old is he?” I asked, trying to stifle a laugh.
“Forty,” she answered. He was only four years younger than her.
“And what was he doing here?” I smiled, trying to put her at ease. I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t talk to me about this sort of thing. I was her daughter, and understanding had always been a big part of our relationship.
“I forgot my agenda in the classroom, and he was kind enough to bring it back to me,” she answered, but something wasn’t adding up for me. First of all, wasn’t it interesting that Anton apparently knew where we lived? Second, my mother was blushing again.
“Uh-huh, I see,” I said. “So he’s also a professor?” She nodded.
“So how do you feel about each other? Are you dating? Tell me everything,” I insisted, and it occurred to me that the messages my mother so often read with a dreamy look on her face were from this guy.
“We went out one time; it was while you were in New York,” she began.“But nothing happened,” she added immediately. “Plus, at my age…” she continued with a gloominess that I didn’t like at all. My mother was a cultured, intelligent, and enchanting woman. Her beauty had not faded at all with the passage of time, and more importantly, she had unique qualities that would be sure to impress any man.
“You should get to know him, see what happens. I have faith in you, Mom, and in your choices. I know you’ll do what’s right for you.” I gave her my blessing and was happy to see a quiet spark of hope in her eyes.
We talked for another hour about Anton Coleman. My mother recounted every detail of their first meeting and all the things about him that had captivated her from the moment she saw him. She also told me that she was going to be very sensible and think long and hard before getting into a real relationship with him. Either way, she would take her time now and deepen their pleasant acquaintance.
I kept asking questions and listening to her answers until she switched to another, decidedly less exciting, topic: Matt Anderson.
“Give him a call. He said he called your phone, but you didn’t answer. He wants to talk to you.” Mom handed me my phone and urged me to call Matt.
Okay, yes, we had spent a day together, and I had even given him a handmade gift, but as far as I was concerned, he was still Matt Anderson, asshole father, even if my hatred of him had dulled slightly.
“C’mon,” Mom smiled at me, and I grabbed the phone, rolling my eyes.
I got off my stool and went into the living room to call while my mother got dinner started.
“Selene.” Matt answered on the second ring, like he’d been waiting to hear from me. I sighed and looked out over our neat little lawn, wondering what I could say to him that wouldn’t sound rude.
“Hey, Matt. You were trying to get ahold of me?” It wasn’t very polite, but it wasn’t overly rude either.
“Yeah, I wanted to suggest you come over to my place this Saturday,” he said immediately without hesitation. I frowned because I hadn’t been expecting anything remotely like that. He wanted me to fly out and spend more time with him? There, in the house I had barely escaped last time?
Heat from the memories I associated with that house warmed my cheeks, among other spots on my body.
God, I had to get my head on straight.
